Social networking is exploding, and financial advisors are part of the trend. Today’s session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series featured John Comer, a marketing coach to advisors, who spoke about how advisors can use LinkedIn to identify and build relationships with new prospects. Over 550 advisors registered for the session. View Replay        Comer_Presentation Slides

Compliance Issues Posed By Linkedin, Twitter, Blogging, & Social Networking
When an IA rep uses Twitter to send a link to an article at Money.com to clients and prospects “following” him, is that communication subject to SEC advertising rules? How about when a registered rep does the same thing?

And how about if you” tweet” about a blog you posted? Can you even write a blog? And what about allowing commenting on your blog? Is that allowed?

Does posting a “recommendation” by a client on your Linkedin profile constitute a testimonial and, thus, violate SEC rules? What if clients don’t recommend you as a financial advisor but just opine on your character or integrity?

Blogs, Linkedin, Twitter, and other social networking websites are incredibly exciting marketing mediums. But before you dive in, you must know the compliance rules you face.   

In this session, you’ll get straight answers from MarketCounsel, one of the country's leading business and regulatory compliance consulting firms.

CFP attendees eligible for one CE credit.  

Register now       Presentation slides (.PDF)   Presentation slides (.PPS)

See Replays Of All Financial Crisis Webinars And Schedule Of Upcoming Sessions 

With revenues from asset management fees slashed by the worst bear market in decades, financial advisors are struggling. And with Wall Street discredited by the financial crisis, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for independent advisors to build their client base, according to Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network, who spoke at this week’s session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series. To survive—and once again thrive—says Lezynski, advisors must focus now on delegating, marketing, communicating, prospecting, and positioning, and they must take steps right now to improve communications, retain clients, and build new relationships.

View webinar replay
Download presentation slides

Hand-picking prospects using LinkedIn: Next week’s webinar session will look at how advisors can use LinkedIn to build their client base during the current economic downturn. The popular social networking site provides a great way to find new leads and build your online presence. John Comer, a marketing coach to advisors who has over 28 years of experience, recently conducted groundbreaking research into how advisors can use LinkedIn for marketing. He will present his findings at this session.

Register now
Download March 27 presentation slides

Are you successfully implementing a plan to get through the economic downturn? Do you have any recommendations that could help your peers to retain clients, reduce costs, or land new prospects? If so, please share your ideas by commenting on this blog. 

As the economic malaise continues, financial advisors are struggling. The stock market plunge has cut assets under management in half, and clients need more handholding than ever before. With the large Wall Street firms’ losing their credibility, independent advisors have a huge growth opportunity, but it won’t be easy.

As an advisor, to succeed in this downturn you must restore revenues, reduce costs, retain clients, and expand your business. These tasks can be daunting in the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression. But, at Friday's session of the Financial Crisis Webinar Series, marketing expert Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network will show you how you can keep your business on solid footing through delegating, marketing, communicating, prospecting, and positioning.

Mr. Lezynski will also explain how to discover your firm’s vision and identity and how to use that discovery to properly plan for your firm’s growth.

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Seventy-six percent of advisors say they are not confident that they possess the skills to fully vet alternative investments. 54% percent say they do not have a “standard” list of documentation that they collect from alternative investment managers before investing, and  63% say they have no formally documented due diligence process, according to a suevey this week by Advisor Products.

With that bleak data as a backdrop, along with the guilty plea entered yesterday by the infamous Bernard Madoff, Jason Sharfman of Corgentum Consulting LLC., which specializes in due diligence of alternative investments, told attendees at this week's Financial Crisis Webinar that lax RIAs could face the risk of liability and are vulnerable to lawsuits by clients unless they tighten alternative investment due diligence.

The webinar also featured a discussion about Schwab Institutional's effort to move all alternative investments off its custodial platform. Anthony Carl of Sterling Trust Company and Tom Anderson, CEO of Pensco Trust Company, also participated in the discussion. Carl and Anderson, who represent two custodians to which Schwab Institutional is referring advisors as they move off the Schwab custody platform, spoke about how using a trusted custodian can help mitigate the risks of alternative investments.

Download Sharfman's presentation slides     Download Anderson’s presentation slides

For thoughtful coverage of the Schwab Alternative Investment custody issue, read Andrew Gluck’s blog post.

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Has your firm developed a successful due diligence process? Do you have any recommendations that you would like to share? If so, please comment.

On March 20, Jerry Lezynski of SEI Advisor Network presents SEI's 2009 Survival Guide For Financial Advisors. Advisors should attend this session for new ideas about how to grow business during this difficult time. Register now.  Download presentation slides.

The bad news on the economy is unrelenting. Companies—entire industries—are collapsing and millions of jobs are disappearing. Clients want answers, while you feel responsible for their investment losses and doubtful about your ability to help them. These are difficult days, if not overwhelming. In this presentation, Sharon Hoover, executive leadership coach, shows you how to manage the demands being made on you in these tough times.
Download Hoover's presentation slides

March 13: Due Diligence On Alternative Investments: Never Be "Madoffed" And Show Clients Transparency
Performing due diligence on investments is more important than ever, as is being able to prove to clients and prospects that you run an honest advisory business. In this presentation, Jason Sharfman, author of the recently published book "Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks," will tell you how to perform investment and operational due diligence and how to create policies and procedures that ensure transparency when investors are performing due diligence on your firm.

Before founding Corgentum, Scharfman oversaw due diligence for a $6 billion alternative investment allocation group called Graystone Research at Morgan Stanley. He was also a senior member of a team that oversaw all of Morgan Stanley’s hedge fund operational due diligence efforts allocating $13 billion to a firm-wide platform of over 300 hedge fund managers across multiple investment strategies.

Download Sharfman's presentation slides